The answer to why Newt Gingrich is leading in the polls is simple. It’s also dangerously short-sighted. Gingrich’s popularity is born of the frustration and impotence felt by so many Americans over the direction of this country in the past 3 years and the crony capitalism that has mushroomed out of control. People want someone to “take the hit” for our current situation and they mistakenly believe they will feel better if they watch Newt Gingrich debate Barack Obama. It’s that simple.

We humans rarely take responsibility for the world we create. We have wallowed in a victim mentality for millennia. So, when things get bad, or challenging, we look to blame someone else for our plight.

Most of us sense what a critical moment we have arrived at . Many of us think that the current President represents an impediment to moving beyond the crisis. Those who feel this way want him defeated in 2012. However, on the way to that defeat, we would like to see him no longer able to avoid being held accountable for the decisions he’s made.

It’s in that last sentence that Newt Gingrich’s popularity is rooted and so easily understood.

Gingrich is a brilliant historian and a remarkable debater. It’s almost safe to say he’s unequaled, among public figures, in being able to articulate and discuss history, government and the political process. To the contrary, Barack Obama, other than when in cheerleader mode on the campaign trail, seems unable to articulate much of anything absent detailed preparation and the assistance of a teleprompter. He is almost unintelligible at thinking on his feet.

So, in our haste to hold Barack Obama accountable, we fail to realize that we are doing business with the devil, so to speak. Substantively and policy-wise, Newt Gingrich is a Progressive just as Barack Obama is, regardless of their party affiliations. Both men believe in big government and both believe that government knows best.  In addition, Gingrich’s ethics and moral character, as exemplified by his past private and public behavior, are sorely lacking at best.

It was shortsightedness, instant gratification and a disregard for personal responsibility that got us into the current mess. Nominating Newt Gingrich would be the result of our continuing that pattern of behavior.

We must trade the thrill of seeing this President intellectually and verbally pummeled for a longer range view of things. Yes, Barack Obama needs to go. But in that process, we need to step up, decide where we want to go when he’s gone, and choose the Republican candidate who is most likely to honor our choice and lead us there. Admittedly this approach will require much more work on each of our parts than just nominating Gingrich because he’s quick on his feet. But remember, to do nothing is to choose.

I can guarantee you won’t like the end result should inaction wind up being your choice.

 

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